


A Year in a Day

by lillykins



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Because they are in Boston, Crack, Don't Start Your Homework at 9pm on Sunday Night, Fluff, How could I forget the Crack Tag?, Light Angst, M/M, Time Loop, Underage Drinking, bkns, brief mentions of sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 03:44:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12313098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lillykins/pseuds/lillykins
Summary: Deliverable: A 3500-word research essay detailing an event or series of events that resulted from the serendipitous mishandling of a magical spell.---Otabek and Seung-gil are stuck in a time loop.





	A Year in a Day

**Author's Note:**

> Well, there is no reasonable excuse for this. It is for the 10/01 [yoipromptsweekly.](https://yoipromptsweekly.tumblr.com) and the prompts used are: Angst, Reliving the same day (or another length of time) repeatedly, “You shouldn’t be here.", Cats, Candy.
> 
> Have a beautiful day.

Lillykins

HSMG 324: Serendipitous Magical Events

Dr. Margaret Wellflame

The Midwestern School of Magical Studies

October 8, 2017

A Year In a Day: A Class G Locked Time Loop

* * *

 

**Introduction**

Mishandled magic often leads to disaster but sometimes, a spell that has gone bad can still turn out well. Otabek Altin and Seung-gil Lee were caught in a locked time loop without their knowledge or involvement in casting the spell. Their experience is one of the best examples of a serendipitous magical event.

Locked time loops are extremely rare. There have only been five such occurrences in recorded history. Since the _New Time Awareness Act_ of 1839, only one locked time loop has occurred. A Class G Love Spell Number Fourteen was used incorrectly and drew Altin and Lee into a locked time loop that repeated three hundred and sixty-six times. This is an account of their experience which will include information on the spell, its casting, and a theory on how the spell was resolved (Alexandrite, 2009).

**Background**

**The Spell.** The spell used was the Class G Love Spell Number Fourteen. This spell is designed to give the caster a second chance to form a relationship when the opportunity is missed. When cast correctly it creates a single time loop so the caster can go back and reclaim the missed opportunity. This type of spell is almost always used for short-term events that last no longer than three hours. When casting, the caster must specify themselves, or another party, as the target of the spell, as well as the duration of the time loop (Wall, 2017).

A Class G spell should only be attempted by spellcasters that have reached the level of Expert or higher. Popovich, a novice mage, failed to correctly set the parameters of the spell and in doing so created a locked time loop (Wall, 2017).

 **Spell Casting.** The spell was cast on the night of March 27, 2016, at 10:56 pm. While casting the spell Popovich failed to indicate himself as the primary target of impact so when cast, the spell sought out the nearest sympathetic and compatible targets to fulfill both sides required to bring the spell to completion. The targets chosen by the spell were Otabek Altin and Seung-gil Lee. Popovich was not affected directly by the spell and was unaware of the events that resulted from the botched casting (Wall, 2017).

The spell was cast at 10:56 pm on the eighth floor of the Boxer Hotel, located in Boston Massachusetts, USA. Popovich, Altin, and Lee were in town to compete in the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships, which were held from March 28 to April 3.

 **Altin.** Altin represented Kazakhstan in the men’s singles division. He was eighteen years old at the time of the casting. After a successful season of figure skating, he was expected to finish the competition in the top five. During the casting, Altin was located on the ninth floor, directly above Popovich’s room. There was no deviation from his typical schedule and he went to sleep at 9:30 pm

 **Lee.** Lee, aged twenty years old,  was also in the men’s singles division as the representative for South Korea. He was expected to place in the top ten of the competition. When the spell was activated Lee was occupying the room directly below Popovich’s, on the seventh floor. He was awake, reading, at the time of the casting and after activation, found himself waking from sleep.

 **Popovich.** Popovich was one of three representatives from the Russian national team. He was twenty-seven at the time and expected to retire after this competition. In the year leading up to the casting of the spell, Popovich suffered a traumatic breakup with his longtime girlfriend. He spent the year in emotional distress and eventually chose to attempt a Class G love spell to resolve his emotional issues. It is still unclear whether Popovich’s goal was to bring them back together or find a new lover. Either way, there was no effect on Popovich from the spell or the spell casting.

**Events During Locked Loop**

The events of the locked time loop were recounted by Altin and Lee during a personal interview in two sessions. The first of which was on September 7, 2017, and the second on September 12, 2017, for a total of six hours. The interview was held via Skype where Altin and Lee presented their accounts simultaneously. While speaking, Alton sat with his arm across Lee’s shoulders and Lee rested his hand on Altin’s knee. Both men wore neutral expressions for the majority of the conversation and spoke in short, clipped sentences. The interview was interrupted several times by their cat and dog. Even so, they seemed eager to share their experience. The interview was held in English.

The loop activated at 6:18 am on March 27, 2016, and ended at 10:56 pm the same day.

**March 27, 2016**

It was a typical pre-competition day with free time in the morning and an official practice in the afternoon. Nothing during the first day stood out as unusual and nothing indicated a potential problem. Popovich’s behavior was within normal limits.

**Day 1**

Lee was the first to notice a problem. One moment he was reading a book and the next he was waking up at 6:34 am on the morning of March 27. After several moments of confusion, Lee went about his day, reenacting the day before to the best of his ability. He had accidentally been caught in a time loop once before that had resolved itself within three cycles. Lee was unconcerned and used his extra time to practice his Free Skate program.

Altin was not calm about the situation having had no previous experience with time loops. When he awoke, around 6:30 am, he did not immediately understand the situation. After he realized the date, he called his best friend Yuri Plisetsky.

 

> “What the fuck do you mean ‘It’s yesterday’? Today is today and yesterday was yesterday.” Yuri’s tone was biting but, Yuri’s tone was always biting.
> 
> “I mean it’s today but it was today yesterday and now it’s today again.”
> 
> “Oh, shit.” Yuri started laughing. “Did you get stuck in a time loop? What did you do?”
> 
> “I didn’t _do_ anything. I have no idea how to handle this.”
> 
> “Just fucking Google it. I’m pretty sure you’re just supposed to act normal till it’s over.” Yuri hung up on Otabek.

Plisetsky was a good friend but unfortunately, he was not always the most helpful. Altin did use Google to find information on how to act in an accidental time loop. All of the results indicated that he should behave naturally and follow his actions from the day before.

In the case of an accidental loop inclusion, the affected parties should continue to act as they did during the first playthrough of events. Most time loops will either resolve themselves or be resolved by the spell’s targets, with no outside help from those who have been accidentally included. Most loops will be resolved in three to five repeats (Alexandrite, 2009).

It wasn’t until day nine that Altin and Lee deviated from their present actions.

**Day 9**

Altin soon became tired of repeating his actions and decided to skip practice in favor of eating a chocolate cupcake at the cafe across the street from the hotel. Lee’s practice time was scheduled after Altin and his schedule dictated that he eat lunch in that restaurant before he went to practice.

 

> “You shouldn't be here,” Seung-gil said when Otabek sat down at his table. He looked mildly confused.
> 
> “I wanted some cake.” Otabek shrugged and took a large bite of his double chocolate cupcake. It was not in his diet plan but he figured that one cupcake would not harm him in the long run, especially if tomorrow was also today. It wouldn’t count at all.
> 
> Seung-gil furrowed his brow and said “No, you should be at practice. I am in the next time slot. Victor spills his tea on the ice and Yuri gets mad. Then you leave with him.” He ticks off each event on his fingers and frowns.
> 
> “Then Yuri chases a cat down the road. Poor thing, I thought I’d give it the day off.” This was the only thing that Otabek tried to change every day. Yuri would not leave the cat alone and Otabek felt bad for it being startled ten days in a row. “Are you stuck in the loop too?”
> 
> Seung-gil nodded his head once.
> 
> “So we just keep going like we have been?”
> 
> Seung-gil shrugged and nodded his head again. “It should resolve itself soon.”

It did not resolve itself soon.

**Day 20**

Altin and Lee’s time together increased over the next days. Tired of repeating the day, they sought out each other to stave off boredom. There was a great deal of free time during their day. The only event either had to be present for was the official practice in the afternoon.

Altin’s only concern during this time was with the stray cat Lee had affectionately named Bow Tie, on account of the bow like marking on its neck. Altin would distract Plisetsky enough from his tantrum for Lee to move the cat out of the way so it would not be startled. Moving the cat became an important event because it was the only way for them to maintain some semblance of control of the situation.

**Day 21**

Day twenty-one was the tipping point. Altin and Lee came to the conclusion that they were not insignificant to the events of the time loop. Through Lee’s online research, the pair found out that there was no documented case of a time loop lasting more than fifteen repetitions that was not somehow caused by the mishandling of a magical spell. The longest accidental time loop was the Brozen-Zentil loop that lasted for one hour and seven minutes and repeated eight hundred and four times (Alexandrite, 2009).

**Day 22 to Day 27**

Days twenty-two and twenty-three were used to investigate the situation. Altin and Lee quickly narrowed down the possibilities to Popovich through proximity and timing. Day twenty-four through twenty-seven were spent coxing the story out of Popovich. This was a frustrating time for the two because Popovich refused to stay on topic and would regularly start crying and screaming about how unfair his life was. Near the end of Day twenty-seven, Popovich finally shared his story.

 

> “I got it from a friend.” Georgi said in a whisper. He was embarrassed about his attempted love spell and upset to find out that it had not worked. “He said I would get the chance to go back and find love. That’s all I wanted. Real love.” Georgi burst into tears and buried himself into Otabek’s chest.
> 
> “We are going to sit here until after you are supposed to cast it.” Seung-gil snapped. He was irritated by Georgi and could not speak to him for long before the time loop started. After spending several days in close contact, he realized that he and Georgi would never be friends.
> 
> Otabek frowned at Seung-gil over Gerogi’s head. It was a warning: Don’t upset him and make him run like you did yesterday. Otabek was much better at interacting with Georgi and Seung-gil

Altin, Lee, and Popovich sat together until 10:56 pm, when the time loop reset.

**Day 28**

Unfortunately, preventing Popovich from casting the spell did not stop the time loop from resetting. With this new information, Altin and Lee discovered that they were involved in a locked time loop. A locked time loop will reset itself regardless of the actions of the initial caster. In the more common malleable time loop, the timeline will only be reset by some action from the caster (Alexandrite, 2009).

**Day 29**

Lee spent the morning on the phone with Dr. Warren Jeffsonian, head of the Locked Loop Department of the Institute of Time Management. Dr. Jeffsonian could offer no advice.

 

> “I don’t have enough information. That kind of spell isn’t supposed to do that. You two are fucked, totally fucked.” Dr. Jeffsonian cackled wildly. “I need more time to figure it out. I need more time.”
> 
> Seung-gil hung up the phone in disgust.

They were quiet the rest of the day, each occupied with their own thoughts. The time loop was a Class G spell that had no apparent target or solution. Altin and Lee were doomed to repeat the loop until a solution presented itself or they randomly created a situation that satisfied the spell.

**Day 30**

Lee did not come to Altin’s room in the morning as had been the routine. When Altin went in search of him he found Lee in his room, still asleep. Lee asked to be left alone for the day and Altin spent most of the day in his room, trying to find a solution to their problem. At this point, he had not given up hope for a solution.

After dinner, Altin went in search of Lee. He had become accustomed to Lee’s presence and felt uncomfortable without him. He found Lee in his room deeply inebriated. This was highly unusual because Altin could only remember Lee drinking on one occasion and this time he had a lot more to drink.

 

> “Fuck it, fuck everything.” Seung-gil was slurring his words. He waved the bottle he was holding around and pointed at Otabek. “And fuck you.”
> 
> Seung-gil took another sip from the bottle and handed it to Otabek. Otabek slowly took a sip and considered Seung-gil. What did they have to lose?
> 
> “Sure, we can do that.” He smiled at Seung-gil “But, how about tomorrow?”
> 
> Seung-gil let out a short bark of laughter that turned quickly to tears. Otabek set the bottle behind him and gathered Seung-gil to his chest. “I called that doctor back. There isn’t anything they can do about it. The spell didn’t have a target and there’s no way to find out how to give it what it wants.”
> 
> “We’ll figure it out.” Otabek patted his back until the loop reset.

**Day 40 to Day 174**

Altin and Lee settled into a schedule. They would meet in the morning and spend the day together until their official practice. They explored the city together, saw countless movies, and sat staring into the water for hours on end. Bow Tie’s name was shortened to Bow and Lee went to get her every day while Altin was at practice. There was a marked improvement in mood after physical intimacy was achieved.

This was also a time of increased emotional intimacy. The pair shared stories of their childhood and families. Both had fourteen-year-old sisters who had much in common. When Altin and Lee ran out of stories, they started to learn each other’s language, for lack of anything better to do. The days passed quickly during this period and all was quiet until day one hundred and seventy-five.

**Day 175**

The situation changed drastically on this day. Altin was in a foul mood and that mixed with boredom made him impulsive.

 

> “Let’s steal a car and just drive.” He was near shouting. “I’m fucking tired of this. Tired of Victor spilling tea on my boot, tired of staring at these walls, tired of the same asinine conversation.”
> 
> “We can’t steal a car and where would we drive?” Seung-gil was also bored but he was the more practical of the two.
> 
> “It doesn’t matter where we drive. Let’s just go somewhere, anywhere but here.” Otabek was at his wit's end.

Lee eventually agreed to Altin’s idea, with several concessions. They would rent a car, not steal one and Bow must make the journey with them. Lee had grown surprisingly close to the cat even though he lay strongly on the dog side of the spectrum. Altin, Lee, and Bow drove in a generally south to southwest direction for the rest of the day.

**Day 176 to Day 247**

The daily drive continued for some time. Every morning, after some time spent together, Altin and Lee would go to the roof and throw their phones into the street. It was tiring to continue to answer questions from their coaches so they simply ignored the problem. It was also somewhat satisfying to hear their phones hit the pavement. After that, they would find Bow and rent a car. They took care to rent a different car and take a different route daily. It was more interesting than staying in Boston and it helped pass the time.

During the interview, there were several times both Altin and Lee broke down with laughter. They were full of stories about their adventures while exploring the area around Boston. Once there was a strange man in a diner, once they raided a Salvation Army to find the most ridiculous outfit they could. Several times they went into a food store and bought all the candy they could carry, sit in the parking lot, and gorge on foods not allowed by their diet plan. These were small stories but, they brought joy.

**Day 248**

 

> “I don’t feel like going out today. Why don’t we just stay in and have sex, a lot of sex.” Seung-gil glanced at Otabek out of the side of his eye. They had learned a lot about each other and Seung-gil knew this was a look that was hard to ignore.
> 
> Otabek looked at Seung-gil in surprise. They had sex often but it was almost always Otabek’s idea. What Seung-gil was suggesting was unusual and interesting.

They stayed in bed for sixty repetitions.

**Day 308**

During the daily phone throwing ritual, Otabek was hesitant to throw his phone. When Seung-gil asked about it Otabek replied that he wanted to call his sister. It had been two hundred and seventy-nine days since they last spoke and Otabek was lonely for his family.

This action again changed their pattern of behavior. They started going to practice again, falling back into a routine they were comfortable with, spilled tea and all. They still spent every morning and every evening together but, their actions became slow and reserved. They did not speak much, to each other or to anyone else.

Altin and Lee both described this as a dark time. They found solace in each other and their unending routine. During this part of the interview, Lee looked at Altin, smiled, and said: “Without him, I would never have made it through. I learned a lot about myself and about him and I know now that as long as I have him, everything will be alright.”

**Day 366**

 

> “I think I’m ok now.” Seung-gil smiled and rubbed his cheek on Otabek’s shoulder.
> 
> “What do you mean?”
> 
> “It’s not so bad anymore. I think I could stay here with you, like this. I could be happy.” His voice was gentle, content.
> 
> Otabek thought about it for a few minutes. It wasn’t such a bad idea. He could stay here with Seung-gil and never have to worry about anything. “I think I could do that too.”
> 
> They went to sleep early that night, happily, sheltered in each other’s arms.

**March 28, 2016**

 

> Otabek woke up and rolled into Seung-gil. It was wrong, Seung-gil should be in his room, waiting for Otabek. He shook Seung-gil awake roughly and said: “You shouldn’t be here.”
> 
> Seung-gil took a few minutes to come fully awake and when he did he went directly for his phone. “It’s the twenty-eighth. No, that can’t be right. Otabek, is it the twenty-eighth?”
> 
> Otabek’s phone started to ring, this was not part of their routine. When he answered Yuri started screaming. “Where the fuck are you? You aren’t in your room and we are supposed to be having breakfast.” This was more confirmation that it was, in fact, the twenty-eighth.

After tears, laughter, and a slightly hysterical explanation to Plisetsky, Altin and Lee contacted their coaches. When the situation was explained to the International Skating Union, the men’s singles competition was postponed for one week. Altin and Lee were required to have a physical evaluation before they were allowed to compete. Both were cleared and allowed to compete the following week.

Altin and Lee moved to Korea where they train under Min-so Park. Both are on track to compete in the 2018 Olympics.

Bow was adopted by Altin and Lee and she is mostly tolerant of the dog.

Popovich started dating fellow retired skater, Cao Bin, in April of 2016 and they seem to be happy. They have plans to coach novice and junior skaters.

**Conclusion**

There is still no clear indication of the terms of conclusion for the spell. There are several theories as to why the spell was resolved. The most prevalent is a time resolution satisfaction. During an interview with the Institute of Time Management, Popovich stated: “All I could think about during the casting was how long I had been alone. I was alone for a year and it seemed so long.” Popovich’s statement shows that he did indicate a time period for the spell as it was cast, even if that was not the intended result (Jeffsonian, 2016).

The second most popular theory is that Altin and Lee fell in love and accepted their situation. While this is a popular theory, it has been largely discredited. Love spells do not create love and can not influence unwilling parties. The most a love spell can do is make it easier for two people who should be in love to fall in love. Some theorists say that it was their acceptance that resolved the spell but, this was originally a love spell and no spell that helps the user find acceptance with a situation will create a time loop or bring the user love (Wall, 2017).

It is more likely that Popovich unknowingly limited the loop to three hundred and sixty-six days by thinking about his last year during casting. The relationship between Altin and Lee was an accidental, yet positive, byproduct of a mishandled spell.

 

* * *

References

Alexandrite, R., (May 4, 2009), Time loop terrors, Retrieved from https://mnn.com/accidental/whattodo

Jeffsonian, W., (April 16, 2016), The Popovich interview. Retrieved from https://ITM.edu/interview/Popovich

Wall, Z., (Januay 11, 2017), New classification for magical spells, Retrieved from https://newclasification.com/classG/love/

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [Tumblr.](https://lazyblizzarddefendor.tumblr.com) It's not much but asks are always open.


End file.
